Not only are North Bayites generous when it comes to financially supporting charitable causes, but they’re also generous when it comes to giving of their time.
People of all ages were lined up, volunteering to pack hampers for the North Bay Santa Fund Saturday afternoon.
This year’s goal was $175,000, and 45 minutes into the packing, organizers said they were just $7,000 shy of their target.
“During this time, people usually do come with cheques. If they don’t that is fine because people are still donating to santafund.ca I know we’re going to reach our goal this year,” grinned relieved Santa Fund co-chair Tracy Richardson.
The Santa Fund committee faced a challenging year as they chipped away at their goal.
In the end, people pulled together to give, making Richardson grateful for everyone’s generosity.
“I think the Carmine Ricciuti Christmas Special really helped everybody out. Everybody being the committee and anyone who was actively helping to make sure we had enough funds.”
Packing day proved once again that many hands make light work as just over 17-thousand items were placed into the hampers.
Each hamper is worth roughly $400.
The Santa Fund provides a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings including enough food to feed 375 families past Christmas, and gifts for over 12-hundred children.
“The number is exactly the same as last year. The year before that it was even lower, and when Geoff and I started about four years ago, we had 450 families. We’re not really sure why the difference,” noted Richardson.
The timing of the packing worked out for many young families.
“It’s interesting because we’re doing it in the afternoon instead of normally at 5:00, so we’re seeing a lot more kids come out which is tons of fun. The Trappers are here, and we have the band the Black Birds singing,” Richardson noted.
Although her daughters are young, mom Meaghan Stasiv wanted them to be part of the experience.
“I think it is important for them to learn to give back. I was part of a family like this back in the day. I came from a low-income background, so I always wanted to give back and be a part of helping other families as well,” explained Stasiv.
Sarah Harwood was busy packing hampers with the help of your two young daughters, making memories while teaching them the importance of helping others.
“It is important that they understand that many people in our community do need this sort of help. I am having so much fun, and they’re having fun too,” shared Harwood.
The committee was also pleased by the number of volunteers who made a commitment to deliver the baskets starting at 9 a.m. Monday morning.
Richardson shared these final words with the community in mind.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. We couldn’t be more appreciative of everybody’s generosity,” said Richardson.
“We were a little bit worried because the fundraising was a little bit slower than normal, but from the bottom of our hearts, from all of the Santa Fund committee, we thank everybody so much for not only coming out to help pack, but also for opening up their wallets and giving a little bit more.”
